Income Inequality: Is Raising the Minimum Wage the Solution?

We Can and Should Do Better

by Susan Rose, Charles A. Dana Professor of Sociology and director of the Community Studies Center

The federal minimum wage, established in the 1930s, has functioned
as an important part of the U.S. economy for nearly 75 years. It rests on the
principle that work deserves to be valued and does so by establishing a wage
floor under all workers. The cost of living and worker productivity have
increased, so why not the minimum wage?

If one is working full time at the current federal minimum
wage of $7.25, one would make $15,080 a year, which is $8,470 less than the
current poverty level for a family of four ($23,550). Increasing the minimum
wage would help millions of families in the U.S. who work service jobs,
typically without benefits such as health insurance, sick leave or vacation
days.

As one of the richest countries in the world, we can and
should do better. But raising the minimum wage is not enough—it is only a small
step. Major steps need to be taken to reduce the high degree of inequality in
the U.S., which ranks no. 1, as measured by the Gini index, in the degree of
inequality among all industrialized nations. We need to go further in providing
affordable health care to all by establishing a more progressive tax system; closing loopholes for the very wealthy (the top 1-10 percent); and increasing pay
equity and affordable child care while paying child-care workers a decent wage.
Currently, the average zookeeper in the U.S. makes more than the average
day-care worker. People who are willing to work hard have a right to a decent
livelihood. The savings and boost to the economy and society in the interest of
the common good would be enormous.